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The sampling frequency, number of bits and number of channels used for recording of music, etc., in studios has been increasing in recent years,
and there are a growing number of high quality signal sources, including 96 kHz/24 bit 5.1-channel sources.
For example, there are high picture/sound quality DVD video sources with 96 kHz/24 bit stereo PCM audio tracks.
However, because the data rate for these audio tracks is extremely high, there are limits to recording them on two channels only, and since the
quality of the pictures must be restricted it is common to only include still pictures.
In addition, 96 kHz/24 bit 5.1-channel surround is possible with DVD audio sources, but DVD audio players are required to play them with this high
quality.
DTS 96/24 is a multi-channel digital signal format developed by Digital Theater Systems Inc. in order to deal with this situation.
Conventional surround formats used sampling frequencies of 48 or 44.1 kHz, so 20 kHz was about the maximum playback signal frequency. With
DTS 96/24, the sampling frequency is increased to 96 or 88.2 kHz to achieve a wide frequency range of over 40 kHz.
In addition, DTS 96/24 has a resolution of 24 bits, resulting in the same frequency band and dynamic range as 96 kHz/24 bit PCM.
As with conventional DTS Surround, DTS 96/24 is compatible with a maximum of 5.1 channels, so sources recorded using DTS 96/24 can be
played in high sampling frequency, multiple channel audio with such normal media as DVD videos and CDs.
Thus, with DTS 96/24, the same 96 kHz/24 bit multi-channel surround sound as with DVD-Audio can be achieved while viewing DVD-Video images
on a conventional DVD-Video player (
1). Furthermore, with DTS 96/24 compatible CDs, 88.2 kHz/24 bit multi-channel surround can be achieved
using normal CD/LD players (
1).
Even with the high quality multi-channel signals, the recording time is the same as with conventional DTS surround sources.
What’s more, DTS 96/24 is fully compatible with the conventional DTS surround format, so DTS 96/24 signal sources can be played with a
sampling frequency of 48 kHz or 44.1 kHz on conventional DTS or DTS-ES surround decoders (
2).
1: A DVD player with DTS digital output capabilities (for CD/LD players, a player with digital outputs for conventional DTS CDs/LDs) and a
disc recorded in DTS 96/24 are required.
2: The resolution is 24 or 20 bits, depending on the decoder.
DTS 96/24
